Sunday, March 31, 2013

Victor Griffin the riff master of such powerhouse doom acts
as Place of Skulls and Pentagram is back with a new release, entitled Victor
Griffin’s In-Graved. The trademark sound and style of his previous efforts are
showcased here and will have fans eagerly awaiting their live shows.

The sound and tone of Griffins six string assault is the
driving force through out this album. He pushes the songs along with his sludgy
biker metal attack and screams with some tasty blues inspired leads that add to
the metal amalgam. His riffs are solid and heavy. Victor once again shines in
the lead vocal department, his voice just fits the music; smooth but forceful.

The promotional
material mentions the extensive guest list on this release, take a look!

However it all comes down to the songs and these cuts don’t
disappoint. My personal favorite being Late For an Early Grave, it has a great
hook and melody but the riff is gratifying and heavy as a brick, not doom in
the traditional sense but more bluesy biker metal. Most of the songs have a
strong bluesy, doomy, heavy feel with a lot of great melodies.

Album opener Digital Critic is another that just grooves
with power and heaviness that gets this old headbanger moving and reaching for
his air guitar. Love Song for the Dying is one of the slightly slower tracks
but is a bruiser for sure. Clocking in at nearly 7 minutes this track delivers
the goods from Griffin’s
guitar to Jeff Olson’s organ.

Two of the songs on this album Late For an Early Grave and
album closer Never Surrender originally appeared on an obscure solo release by Griffin. I’ve not heard
their original versions but their inclusion here is something I’m grateful for,
these songs are some of the best material. A Jethro Tull song, Teacher was
included here as well.

The production elements are up to snuff with each instrument
having it’s own territory in the mix, nothing is buried and the sounds of each
instrument are not hampered.Griffins
Christian worldview is evident even in the songs where God is not mentioned
directly.

Overall Victor Griffin’s IN-GRAVED is great bluesy heavy
metal with strong biker/doom metal overtones. The songs kick and have great
melody, pick this album up and be prepared for some serious heavy metal action.

JUNE 2014 SABBATICAL

Hey there folks... To all my fellow fans of metal I just want to announce effective immediately we will be no longer reviewing new albums. I actually do have one left to review that will get done fairly soon.

IMMEDIATE SABBATICAL..... as to why... Well I'm burned to crisp and really want to explore other things without the constant thought of listening to music for the purpose of writing a review.... I will always have an opinion but at this point I'm really burned out.... very burned out... There has been so much going on ...... Until a later day....